Echoing the ongoing debate about the death of the American Dream of improving living standards, the IMF finds “prospects for upward mobility are waning; and the poverty rate (at 13.5%) is one of the highest among advanced economies.”

The IMF also quietly excoriates Trump and Republican proposals to make sharp cuts to Medicaid that could strip millions of health coverage — and warns about the dangers of financial deregulation.

“The administration’s budget proposes to reduce the fiscal deficit and debt, to reprioritize public spending, and to revamp the tax system,” the Fund said. “However, during the Article IV consultation it became evident that many details about these plans are still undecided. Given these policy uncertainties, the IMF’s macroeconomic forecast uses a baseline assumption of unchanged policies.”
In other words, don’t expect any tax reform, infrastructure spending or regulatory overhauls any time soon.